Hamzah named opposition leader as he has majority support, says Kiandee

PETALING JAYA: Hamzah Zainudin was named the opposition’s choice of leader as he commands majority support among Perikatan Nasional MPs, a suspended Bersatu leader said, in clearing the air over the polemics stemming from his “appointment”.

Ronald Kiandee said Hamzah, a former minister, had PAS’s support en-bloc and that of a majority of Bersatu MPs.

“His position is therefore intact and cannot be undermined by any internal party resolutions,” he said in a Facebook post.

On Saturday, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said that Hamzah, the Larut MP, would return as the opposition leader, just two months after relinquishing the post.

Hadi said PAS sought the views of its MPs as well as the MPs aligned with Hamzah, including 13 who are still with Bersatu.

Kiandee said that based on the Westminster system and the Commonwealth conventions, the appointment of an opposition leader was based on the majority support the candidate received.

It was not bound by a decision of any political party, Kiandee, a Bersatu vice president who had been suspended on March 6, said.

“In view of the current situation revolving around PAS and Bersatu’s ties in PN, it is only reasonable that opposition MPs determine who the opposition leader is,” he said referring to PAS’s decision to sever ties with Bersatu.

Kiandee added that the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders also stipulated that the role of the opposition leader was not determined by hierarchy or his membership in a political party. And that the Dewan Rakyat speaker was empowered to conclusively confirm which opposition MP received the majority of support to be appointed to the role.

On March 2, Kiandee confirmed the contents of a letter sent to PN chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan, stating that a majority of Bersatu’s MPs supported retaining Hamzah as the opposition leader.

In the letter dated Feb 24, Kiandee said 13 Bersatu MPs reached a “collective and majority” decision to endorse the Larut MP continuing to hold the post, in line with the parliamentary standing orders.

An attachment to the letter listed the names of the 13 MPs who backed the decision: Kiandee, Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz, Rosol Wahid, Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail, Muslimin Yahaya, Abdul Khalib Abdullah, Khairil Nor, Zakri Hassan, Roslan Hashim, Nordin Ahmad Ismail, Kalam Salan and Islahuddin Abbas.